ACS1000 - Principles of accounting and finance - 2019

6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Business and Economics

Organisational Unit

Department of Accounting

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Zanele Maduna

Coordinator(s)

Ms Zanele Maduna

Unit guides

Offered

South Africa

  • First semester 2019 (On-campus)
  • Second semester 2019 (On-campus)

Synopsis

This unit is an introduction to basic concepts in accounting and finance and the application of these concepts for decision-making by a wide range of potential users (e.g. shareholders, investment analysts, lenders, managers etc.). This unit should benefit students who wish to specialise in accounting and finance, and will also be of value to students whose primary interest lies elsewhere in the field of business. On completion, students should have a clear understanding of the accounting process and the language of accounting to enable communication with an accounting professional, understand the relevance of accounting information for informed decision-making by a wide range of potential users, and have the ability to analyse and interpret accounting information.

Topics covered include the accounting equation, general purpose financial statements, cash and accrual accounting, balance day adjustments, financial statement analysis, interpreting information for managers to use in planning, decision making and control, and an introduction to finance, financial mathematics and investments.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

  1. describe the elements of financial statements, apply double entry recording and prepare basic financial statements
  2. analyse and interpret financial statements and explain their use for decision making
  3. prepare and interpret information (financial and non-financial) for managers to use in planning, decision making and control
  4. describe basic finance concepts and apply financial mathematics to investment decisions
  5. apply critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills to individual and/or group activities dealing with introductory accounting and finance principles and demonstrate in individual summative assessment tasks the acquisition of a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered in ACS1000.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 40% + Examination: 60%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information